Hand lever ratchet wrench

ABSTRACT

A ratchet wrench of the type having a lever movable toward and away from a handle operating a rotor with teeth disposed at a remote point on the handle, the wrench handle having deep recesses therein and having a shank portion extending at an angle with respect to e the remainder of the handle.

[151 3,682,008 Aug. 8, 1972 United States Patent Teichmeier [54] HAND LEVER RATCHETWRENCH 3,019.68l 2/1962 Girssom....................8[157.39 72 lnvcnor: Wu J TM Route 2 l,9l3,669 6/1933 Ravenna, Nebr. 68869 Aug.7,1970

Primary Examiner-William F. O'Dea [22] Filed:

Assistant Examiner-WesleyS. Ratliff, Jr. Attomey-Hiram A. Sturges [2|] Appl. No.: 61,878

ABSTRACT A ratchet wrench of the type having a lever movable toward and away from a handle operating a rotor with teeth at a remote point on the handle, the wrench handle having deep recesses therein and having a shank portion extending at an angle with respect to e the remainder of the handle.

n U 122 am mum a.. 1%.! m1 m :3 ""7 "n5 w m Wu H mm d S M a m m 0 m U n w Um Mum m HUM m.

3,413,877 l2/l968 Teichmeier.................8l/58.l 10 China, 4 Drawing figures PATENTED M18 B1972 v OE INVENTOR.

FRA NKLIN J. TEICHMEIER HAND LEVER RATCHET WRENCH FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention is in the field of remote control ratchet wrenches.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The most similar ratchet wrench of the prior art has been my own US. Pat. No. 3,413,877, issued Dec. 3, 1968, titled, RATCI-IET WRENCH.

My earlier patent was bulky at its forward end and was relatively difficult to insert into a tight place in machinery. As most machinery is now built in a compact way with parts very close together, this was a very important disadvantage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A remote control ratchet wrench of the type having a handle, a lever movable toward and away from the handle by pivoting in order to control forward motion of a thrust rod, the thrust rod having teeth at its forward end engageable with a rotor, spring means urging the thrust rod rearwardly and also toward the rotor, the thrust rod being provided with a substantially straight outer side along the majority of its length with the adjacent side wall of the wrench being disposed closely adjacent to the outer side of the thrust rod and further being straight on its inner and outer sides in order to lie close to the thrust rod and to cause the outside of the shank portion of the wrench which lies between the handle portion and the rotor to be as small in dimension as possible for ease of insertion into tight places in machinery, the forward end of the side wall of the wrench which is disposed adjacent the forwardmost outer side of the thrust rod being of a complementary shape to the forward end of the outer side of the thrust rod for fitting closely to the portion of the thrust red at times when it is in its forwardmost position for conserving the bulk of the rotor end of the wrench housing for further adaptability for the fitting of the wrench into tight work places.

The provision of two smaller pawls, instead of one larger pawl, as in my earlier patent, in order that that pawl which is disposed closest to the opposite side of the wrench housing from the thrust rod be disposable, because of its small size, closer to the rotor than heretofore in combination with the provision of a recess in that side wall of the shank portion of the housing which is adjacent the pawls for the fitting of the housing as close to the pawls as possible in order to further conserve the bulk of the forward end of the wrench at a minimum for the easy insertion of the wrench between parts of machinery.

The new wrench having a latch movably mounted in a slot in the handle and adapted to be engaged in a hook-shaped recess in the lever in order to hold the lever in a storage position in the handle and movable to release the lever for use.

The wrench having a leverage-changing assembly provided with a releasable lock formed of a cylindrical shaft having a recess therein, the shaft being rotatable by means of a control lever from the outside of the wrench for disposing the flat side of the lock into an engagement with a leverage control arm which positions the inner end of the thrust rod, the flattened cylindrical lock member reducing cost by making a lock and its control shah of my earlier wrench into a single member, thus avoiding assembly costs and reducing danger of breakage at that point in the wrench.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the wrench shown with its lever in retracted position.

FIG. 2 is a frontal elevation of the wrench as seen from the left-hand side in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the wrench with the upper half portion of its housing removed and showing the working parts therein.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail view of the central portion of FIG. 3 and showing an alternate position of the lock member in which its flat recessed surface is disposed facing and engaging the positioning arm of the leverage changing assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The ratchet wrench of this invention comprises an elongated body or housing generally indicated at 10, as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The body 10 has a forward end 12, and a rearward end 14. The body 10 has a cavity 20 disposed between two oppositely disposed spaced walls 28, fonned of a top housing portion 30 and a bottom housing portion 32, each of which have therein a recess such as the recess 36 seen in FIG. 3 in which the operative parts of the wrench are disposed, the recess 36 of each housing portion forming a part of the cavity 20.

A return spring 48 is located in the cavity 20 and is attached at one end to the thrust rod 40 by means of a book 50 and is attached at its other end to the body 10 by means of a fastener 50. At the forward end of the body 10 is a ratchet rotor 60 which has teeth 62 surrounding its circumference, only a part of which is shown in the drawings as the rotor is partially diagrammatically illustrated.

The rotor 60 is rotatably mounted on the body at 14 in a manner for rotating about an axis 64 transverse to the elongation of the body 10.

The forward end of the thrust rod 40 has teeth engageable with the teeth 62 of the rotor, the teeth of the rod being disposed on the rotor side of the rod 40.

The spring 48 urges the teeth 70 into engagement with the teeth 62 of the rotor.

A lever is disposed in the body with the forward end 82 of the lever pivotally attached to the body by a pin 86.

The rearward end 88 of the lever is disposed adjacent the rearward end of the body 10. The lever 80 is swingable about its pivot pin 86 so that its rearward end 88 can swing out from the body on one side thereof and can be manually pressed toward the body for initiating a wrench action.

The lever 80 and the thrust rod 40 are operatively correlated with the pressing of the thrust rod 40 forwardly to rotate the rotor at times when the rearward end of the lever 80 is moved toward the rearward end of the body 10.

This is accomplished by the provision of a forward side 90 of the lever which is disposed transversely to the length thereof at approximately 90 in a position for engaging the rearward end 92 of the rod 40, so that the rod 40 is urged forwardly when the lever 80 is pulled in.

A leverage-changing assembly is generally indicated at 100 and has a positioning arm 102 pivotally attached to the body at 106 having the arm 102 lying alongside the rod 40 at its rearward end and on the same side thereof as the teeth 70, the arm 102 being urged so as not to move toward an adjacent side 110 of the body by means of a lock 112 which is attached pivotally to the body by means of its shape which is cylindrical for the most part for fitting into a cylindrical opening 113 in the housing portion 32, the rotation of the lock 112 being controlled from the outside of the wrench housing by means of a leverage-changing lever 120 which, as seen in FIG. 1, can be swung from its full-line position there shown to its dotted line position, movement being stopped by two stop members 121 and 122 which protrude from the upper side of the wrench sufliciently to abruptly stop movement of the lever 120 in a direction toward the forward end of the wrench and toward the rearward end of the wrench respectively.

As best seen in FIG. 4, the lock 112 has a recess 124 therein and which is in a side thereof so that at times when the lever 120 is in the full-line position, the outermost cylindrical surface of the lock 112 is in engagement with the positioning arm 102 for causing the arm 102 to press against and hold the thrust rod 40 as far inwardly as possible so that its rearward end 92 will engage the forward side of the lever 80 as near to the pivot axis 87 of its pivot pin 86 as possible. In this way, the amount of leverage applied by the hand lever 80 through the thrust rod 40 and against the rotor is at maximum.

Conversely, when it is desired to apply a minimum leverage against the thrust rod 40, the leverage changing lever 120 is swung into the dotted line position shown in FIG. 1 which rotates the lock 112 into a position such that the bottom wall of its recess is the only part thereof which engages the positioning arm 102, whereby the positioning arm 102 is thereby allowed to assume a position farther from the pivot pin 86 than would otherwise be the case. This causes the rearward end of the thrust rod 40 to engage the forward side of the hand lever 80 in a position such as to apply a lesser leverage and a greater amount of motion to the thrust rod 40 for a given amount of motion of the hand lever 80.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the hand lever 80 has on its innermost edge 170 a hook-shaped recess 180 entering thereinto which has a first part 182 extending transversely of the lever 80 and an innermost part 186 extending longitudinally of the lever 80.

The purpose of the hook-shaped recess 180 is to receive a latch 190 which is of cylindrical shape and which is adapted to slide forward and rearward along the body of the housing in a slot 220 which extends forwardly and rearwardly of the body 10 so as to receive and guide the latch 190. An outer end of the latch 190 projects outwardly of the top housing portion 30 and is enlarged, as best seen at 230 in FIGS. 1 and 2, for ready engagement by the fingers and the enlarged outer end is larger than the width of the slot 220 in order to help maintain the latch in place.

The latch 190 extends inwardly through the cavity and is also received in a latch slot 240 which extends forwardly and rearwardly in the bottom housing portion 32 to further guide the latch 190.

The latch 190 is prevented from falling out of the slots 220 and 240 by a snap ring 260 which is resiliently received in an annular recess 270 which surrounds the latch 190 adjacent the inner side of the top housing portion 30, the snap ring 260 being larger in width than the width of the slot 240.

The rotor 60 has upwardly and downwardly projecting cylindrical portions 300 which are rotatably received in circular openings 302 in the top and bottom housing portions 30 and 32 respectively. The cylindrical portions 300 are separated by a portion 310 of much larger diameter on which the teeth 62 are disposed. A pair of pawls 330 and 332 engage the teeth 62 and rotate about pins 336 which extend through the body 10 from the outer side of the top portion 30 to the outer side of the bottom portion 32. The pawls 330 and 332 are urged against the rotor 60 by a spring 340 which is anchored on an anchoring pin 342, the spring 340 fitting into notches in each of the pawls, the notches being shown at 346.

The use of two pawls instead of one makes it possible for each of the pawls to be smaller. Therefore, the pawl which is nearest the edge of the wrench need not extend so far away from the rotor as would be necessary if a single pawl were disposed in that position. This makes it possible for the outer edge 350 of that forward part of a shank portion 360 of the wrench, which latter separates the rotor containing head 380 from the handgrip portion 390, to be thinner as seen in top plan view, and whereby it is possible to provide a recess 390 in that part of the shank portion which is immediately rearward of the head 380 for reducing to a minimum the width of the wrench as seen in top plan view at that point.

It is also to be observed that the thrust rod 40 has a substantially straight outer side 400 disposed adjacent a substantially straight inner side 410, so a minimum thickness of the shank portion 360, as seen in top plan view, is further made possible for that reason.

To further make the wrench of small size in its forward areas, the outermost edge of the thrust rod 40 has its forward end curved inwardly toward the rotor, as best seen at 500, and a corresponding curve 510 exists in the adjacent surfaces of the housing 10 to fit closely and complementally the curved surface 500.

As thus described, operation is as follows: As seen in FIG. 1, when it is desired to operate the wrench, the enlarged end 230 of the latch 190 is moved from a rearward position forward to the position shown in FIG. 1, whereupon it will be at the forward end of the slot 240 and at the opening of the recess for releasing the hand lever 80 for movement by the squeezing of the operator's hand toward and away from the hand-grip portion 390 of the body for causing the thrust rod 40 to be urged forwardly to rotate the rotor. After using the wrench, the lever 80 is swung into the body cavity which causes the latch to be disposed inside of the latch-receiving recess 186. The enlarged portion 230 of the latch 190 is then pressed to the rear of the wrench carrying the cylindrical central part 190 into the rearward portion of the hook-shaped recess 186, holding the lever 80 in the handle or hand-grip portion 390 of the body.

As best seen in FIG. 3, one of the poles, as seen at 330, is completely into a notch at the time the other pole 332 is half way into a notch. The poles are so positioned that at all times at least one of them will be in a position to cause the rotor to rotate with the handle. With this construction, the wrench will ratchet every 8".

lclaim:

l. A remote control ratchet wrench of the type having an elongated housing having a forward and a rearward end which serves as a handle, a hand-lever, said hand-lever being elongated forwardly and rearwardly along said handle, a pivot pin attaching the forward end of said hand-lever pivotally to said handle for rotation about a hand-lever pivot axis extending transversely of said handle, a rotor surrounded with teeth and pivotally mounted in the forward end of said housing for rotating about a rotor axis which latter extends transversely of said housing and transversely of said hand-lever pivot axis, an elongated thrust rod extending forwardly and rearwardly in said housing, the forward end of said thrust rod having teeth on one side which face and are engageable with the teeth of said rotor, the rearward end of said thrust rod being engageable by a forward end of said hand-lever so that at times when the rear ward end of said hand-lever is moved toward the rearward end of said handle said thrust rod will be urged forwardly for causing rotation of said rotor, resilient means mounted on said housing and urging said thrust rod rearwardly and toward said rotor, that side of said thrust rod which is disposed facing away from said rotor defining an outer side of said thrust rod, said handle having a terminal edge extending along a side thereof which is closely spaced with respect to the said outer edge of said thrust rod sufficiently so as to main tain at minimum the spacing of the outermost side of said housing from said outer side of said thrust rod for providing a wrench of compact size, and pawl means mounted on said housing and engaging said teeth of said rotor for preventing rotation of said rotor in a direction opposite to the wrenching direction in which said rotor rotates as said thrust rod moves forwardly, and in which said pawl means comprises a plurality of pawls, each of which is pivotally mounted on said housing for pivoting each about an axis transverse to the elongation of said handle, and pawl-spring means mounted on said housing and engaging said pawls and urging said pawls into positions in engagement with said teeth, said pawl-spring means together with said pawls defining said pawl means, one of the pawls of said pawl means being disposed on an opposite side of said housing from said thrust rod, those parts of said pawl means which are disposed close to said one pawl being disposed not extending substantially farther from said thrust rod than those outermost parts of said rotor which latter parts are on the other side of said rotor from said thrust rod.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the said outer side of said thrust rod is substantially straight along the majority of the length of said thrust rod.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the said outer side of said thrust rod is curved inwardly toward said rotor at its forward end, and the forward end of said thrust rod substantially having lesser size progressively toward its forward end, and portions of said housing which are adjacent the forward part of the outer side of said thrust rod closely fitting the forwardmost position of the forward part of the outer edge of said thrust rod so as to maintain the forward end of said wrench as compact as possible.

4. The combination of claim 1 in which that side of said housing which is opposite said thrust rod as seen in top plan view has a recess therein of substantial depth.

5. The combination of claim 1 in which said pawl means is disposed to the rearward of said rotor and adjacent an opposite side of said housing from said thrust rod, that side of said housing which is opposite said thrust rod having a substantial recess therein as seen in top plan view and said recess being disposed to the rearward of said pawl means to make it possible for said housing to be of compact size.

6. The combination of claim 1 in further combination with a leverage control lock extending pivotally through said housing, said leverage control lock having a generally cylindrical outer side adjacent said thrust rod except for being provided with a low-leverage recess in one side thereof, a leverage control lever disposed on the outer side of said housing and attached to said leverage changing lock and disposable in different positions for causing either said low-leverage recess or another portion of the exterior of said lock to face said thrust rod, movable means mounted on said housing between said thrust rod and said leverage changing lock and engageable with said leverage changing lock and also with said thrust rod for pressing said thrust rod more closely toward the pivot axis of said hand-lever at times when said low-leverage recess does not face said thrust rod and for permitting said thrust rod to have its rearward end farther from the pivot axis of said lever at times when said low-leverage recess faces said thrust rod.

7. The combination of claim 1 in which said housing has an elongated recess extending forwardly and rearwardly in a portion thereof adjacent said lever, a lever latch slidable forwardly and rearwardly in said recess, a lever latch control means on the outside of said housing and connected to said lever latch for urging it forwardly and rearwardly in said slot, said lever having a hookshaped recess therein having a first portion normally facing said lever latch and having an inner portion extending rearwardly from its first portion, said lever lock being movable rearwardly in its slot at times when said hand-lever is disposed inwardly of said housing for engaging in the innermost part of said hook-shaped recess to hold said lever in said handle.

8. The combination of claim 1 in which that side of said housing which is opposite said thrust rod as seen in top plan view has a recess therein of substantial depth.

9. The combination of claim 1 in which said housing has that one of its sides which is opposite said thrust rod disposed substantially as close as possible to said pawl means so as to maintain forward portions of said housing at a compact size.

10. A remote control ratchet wrench of the type having an elongated housing having a forward and a rearward end which serves as a handle, a hand-lever, said hand-lever being elongated forwardly and rearwardly along said handle, a pivot pin attaching the forward end of said hand-lever pivotally to said handle for rotation about a hand-lever pivot axis extending transversely of said handle, a rotor surrounded with teeth and pivotally mounted in the forward end of said housing for rotating about a rotor axis which latter extemk transversely of said housing and transversely of said hand-lever pivot axis, an elongated thrust rod extending forwardly and rearwardly in said housing, the forward end of said thrust rod having teeth on one side which face and are engageable with the teeth of said rotor, the rearward end of said thrust rod being engageable by a forward end of said hand-lever so that at times when the rearward end of said hand-lever is moved toward the rearward end of said handle said thrust rod will be urged forwardly for causing rotation of said rotor, resilient means mounted on said housing and urging said thrust rod rearwardly and toward said rotor, that side of said thrust rod which is disposed facing away from said rotor defining an outer side of said thrust rod, said handle having a terminal edge extending along a side thereof which is closely spaced with respect to the said outer edge of said thrust rod sufficiently so as to maintain at minimum the spacing of the outermost side of said housing from said outer side of said thrust rod for providing a wrench of compact size, and pawl means mounted on said housing and engaging said teeth of said rotor for preventing rotation of said rotor in a direction opposite to the wrenching direction in which said rotor rotates as said thrust rod moves forwardly, and in which said housing has an elongated recess extending forwardly and rearwardly in a portion thereof adjacent said lever, a lever latch slidable forwardly and rearwardly in said recess, a lever latch control means on the outside of said housing and connected to said lever latch for urging it forwardly and rearwardly in said slot, said lever having a hook-shaped recess therein having a first portion normally facing said lever latch and having an inner portion extending rearwardly from its first portion, said lever lock being movable rearwardly in its slot at times when said hand-lever is disposed inwardly of said housing for engaging in the innermost part of said hook-shaped recess to hold said lever in said handle.

is a: a: w m 

1. A remote control ratchet wrench of the type having an elongated housing having a forward and a rearward end which serves as a handle, a hand-lever, said hand-lever being elongated forwardly and rearwardly along said handle, a pivot pin attaching the forward end of said hand-lever pivotally to said handle for rotation about a hand-lever pivot axis extending transversely of said handle, a rotor surrounded with teeth and pivotally mounted in the forward end of said housing for rotating about a rotor axis which latter extends transversely of said housing and transversely of said hand-lever pivot axis, an elongated thrust rod extending forwardly and rearwardly in said housing, the forward end of said thrust rod having teeth on one side which face and are engageable with the teeth of said rotor, the rearward end of said thrust rod being engageable by a forward end of said hand-lever so that at times when the rearward end of said hand-lever is moved toward the rearward end of said handle said thrust rod will be urged forwardly for causing rotation of said rotor, resilient means mounted on said housing and urging said thrust rod rearwardly and toward said rotor, that side of said thrust rod which is disposed facing away from said rotor defining an outer side of said thrust rod, said handle having a terminal edge extending along a side thereof which is closely spaced with respect to the said outer edge of said thrust rod sufficiently so as to maintain at minimum the spacing of the outermost side of said housing from said outer side of said thrust rod for providing a wrench of compact size, and pawl means mounted on said housing and engaging said teeth of said rotor for preventing rotation of said rotor in a direction opposite to the wrenching direction in which said rotor rotates as said thrust rod moves forwardly, and in which said pawl means comprises a plurality of pawls, each of which is pivotally mounted on said housing for pivoting each about an axis transverse to the elongation of said handle, and pawl-spring means mounted on said housing and engaging said pawls and urging said pawls into positions in engagement with said teeth, said pawl-spring means together with said pawls defining said pawl means, one of the pawls of said pawl means being disposed on an opposite side of said housing from said thrust rod, those parts of said pawl means which are disposed close to said one pawl being disposed not extending substantially farther from said thrust rod than those outermost parts of said rotor which latter parts are on the other side of said rotor from said thrust rod.
 2. The combination of claim 1 in which the said outer side of said thrust rod is substantially straight along the majority of the length of said thrust rod.
 3. The combination of claim 1 in which the said outer side of said thrust rod is curved inwardly toward said rotor at its forward end, and the forward end of said thrust rod substantially having lesser size progressively toward its forward end, and portions of said housing which are adjacent the forward part of the outer side of said thrust rod closely fitting the forwardmost position of the forward part of the outer edge of said thrust rod so as to maintain the forward end of said wrench as compact as possible.
 4. The combination of claim 1 in which that side of said housing which is opposite said thrust rod as seen in top plan view has a recess therein of substantial depth.
 5. The combination of claim 1 in which said pawl means is disposed to the rearward of said rotor and adjacent an opposite side of said housing from said thrust rod, that side of said housing which is opposite said thrust rod having a substantial recess therein as seen in top plan view and said recess being disposed to the rearward of said pawl means to make it possible for said housing to be of compact size.
 6. The combination of claim 1 in further combination with a leverage control lock extending pivotally through said housing, said leverage control lock having a generally cylindrical outer side adjacent said thrust rod except for being provided with a low-leverage recess in one side thereof, a leverage control lever disposed on the outer side of said housing and attached to said leverage changing lock and disposable in different positions for causing either said low-leverage recess or another portion of the exterior of said lock to face said thrust rod, movable means mounted on said housing between said thrust rod and said leverage changing lock and engageable with said leverage changing lock and also with said thrust rod for pressing said thrust rod more closely toward the pivot axis of said hand-lever at times when said low-leverage recess does not face said thrust rod and for permitting said thrust rod to have its rearward end farther from the pivot axis of said lever at times when said low-leverage recess faces said thrust rod.
 7. The combination of claim 1 in which said housing has an elongated recess extending forwardly and rearwardly in a portion thereof adjacent said lever, a lever latch slidable forwardly and rearwardly in said recess, a lever latch control means on the outside of said housing and connected to said lever latch for urging it forwardly and rearwardly in said slot, said lever having a hook-shaped recess therein having a first portion normally facing said lever latch and having an inner portion extending rearwardly from its first portion, said lever lock being movable rearwardly in its slot at times when said hand-lever is disposed inwardly of said housing for engaging in the innermost part of said hook-shaped recess to hold said lever in said handle.
 8. The combination of claim 1 in which that side of said housing which is opposite said thrust rod as seen in top plan view has a recess therein of substantial depth.
 9. The combination of claim 1 in which said housing has that one of its sides which is opposite said thrust rod disposed substantially as close as possible to said pawl means so as to maintain forward portions of said housing at a compact size.
 10. A remote Control ratchet wrench of the type having an elongated housing having a forward and a rearward end which serves as a handle, a hand-lever, said hand-lever being elongated forwardly and rearwardly along said handle, a pivot pin attaching the forward end of said hand-lever pivotally to said handle for rotation about a hand-lever pivot axis extending transversely of said handle, a rotor surrounded with teeth and pivotally mounted in the forward end of said housing for rotating about a rotor axis which latter extends transversely of said housing and transversely of said hand-lever pivot axis, an elongated thrust rod extending forwardly and rearwardly in said housing, the forward end of said thrust rod having teeth on one side which face and are engageable with the teeth of said rotor, the rearward end of said thrust rod being engageable by a forward end of said hand-lever so that at times when the rearward end of said hand-lever is moved toward the rearward end of said handle said thrust rod will be urged forwardly for causing rotation of said rotor, resilient means mounted on said housing and urging said thrust rod rearwardly and toward said rotor, that side of said thrust rod which is disposed facing away from said rotor defining an outer side of said thrust rod, said handle having a terminal edge extending along a side thereof which is closely spaced with respect to the said outer edge of said thrust rod sufficiently so as to maintain at minimum the spacing of the outermost side of said housing from said outer side of said thrust rod for providing a wrench of compact size, and pawl means mounted on said housing and engaging said teeth of said rotor for preventing rotation of said rotor in a direction opposite to the wrenching direction in which said rotor rotates as said thrust rod moves forwardly, and in which said housing has an elongated recess extending forwardly and rearwardly in a portion thereof adjacent said lever, a lever latch slidable forwardly and rearwardly in said recess, a lever latch control means on the outside of said housing and connected to said lever latch for urging it forwardly and rearwardly in said slot, said lever having a hook-shaped recess therein having a first portion normally facing said lever latch and having an inner portion extending rearwardly from its first portion, said lever lock being movable rearwardly in its slot at times when said hand-lever is disposed inwardly of said housing for engaging in the innermost part of said hook-shaped recess to hold said lever in said handle. 